Chapter 325: To Hell with Tragedy (4K Bonus Chapter 109)

When Herbert first met Teresa, he had asked her a thought-provoking question.

——"If you truly, truly find you can never return to your original form, what will you do?"

In response to his doubt, the girl whispered softly but firmly.

——"I'd rather die than live as a monster."

Teresa did not wish to become a monster.

Therefore, helping her find release was not only Herbert's choice, but Teresa's as well.

That was why Herbert had closed his eyes and exhaled deeply after hearing Teresa's answer.

He had breathed a sigh of relief.

After his avatar was destroyed, Teresa's body was immediately taken over and controlled by Niyu.

All previous conversations were merely Niyu's deception, a performance to toy with human hearts!

Fortunately, it was Him… that allowed Herbert to make his decision.

Such a threat must never be left alive.

The threat must be utterly eradicated.

Although Nie Nasha despised Niyu's methods of manipulating hearts, His ability to disguise Himself was truly exceptional.

If He were allowed to hide near Herbert, Herbert would never be able to rest easy.

"Cough! Cough!"

"Teresa" narrowed her eyes, staring at Herbert's gaze like he was a gem, and sneered: "Mortal, you're even colder than I thought… You're truly His devotee! Hahaha!"

Those eyes were as cruel as the sun.

The most righteous, the most just, yet utterly intolerant of even the faintest shadow, allowing not a trace of evil.

The sun.

That sun heading inevitably toward self-destruction!

You are destined to fall.

"Mortal… no, Herbert."

In the end, the God of Niyu changed His tone, no longer looking down with contempt upon the mortal, but addressing him by name.

This mortal truly deserved to be remembered, to be inscribed in the memory of a god.

He had angered Him, and stirred His greed.

"You are destined to walk a path leading to destruction."

He gazed at the mortal, whispering in the voice of an ancient one:

"I will watch you forever."

"Remember, every desire, every malice that stirs within you, I will sense."

"I will wait for the moment you are utterly destroyed. When that time comes… I will extend my invitation again."

"Herbert, you will surely become mine."

Facing the final invitation of Miss Xie Shen, Herbert lowered his gaze and gave no reply.

He merely stared at Teresa's corpse, channeling holy power through the blade, slowly pouring it into her body to destroy the foundation of the god's descent.

"…"

Finally, amid the god's mad, blasphemous mutterings, the girl slowly closed her eyes.

Crack.

A faint sound was heard—the domain that had loomed over the entire city dissolved.

Niyu finally withdrew His gaze.

He departed.

For a powerful and mad god, this defeat was catastrophic, a great loss of face.

In facing Herbert, He suffered a complete rout.

He lost a legendary divine devotee, a mad city, an epic avatar, and a quasi-container nurtured with divine bloodline.

But fortunately, it was not a total loss.

In the end, He reclaimed a small victory—he carved a brutal scar into the boy's heart.

He planted a seed of desire.

One day, that fallen seed would take root and sprout, growing into a towering tree within his heart, bearing the most bountiful fruit.

When the fruit ripened, it would be time for Him to come and harvest it.

The sun god's cruel belief was a razor-sharp double-edged sword—it wounded enemies while leaving deep scars within his own heart.

As these scars on the heart accumulated, they would eventually split open completely, never to heal.

This process might take a long time—decades, even a century… but it did not matter. He could wait.

Niyu was in no hurry.

Gods had endless time to wait.

Waiting for Herbert to grow, waiting for him to inch step by step toward madness.

【"He has left completely."】

"…Mm."

Once Herbert confirmed no watching eyes remained, he exhaled deeply.

He lowered his head and saw the girl's body, now growing cold.

He shifted his gaze from her pale face to her hands.

They were not the hands of a demon, but of a village girl who had patched clothes and washed laundry until her skin was rough.

Then, he saw the cloak draped over the girl's shoulders — it was the one he had taken off himself, worn by her with care and reverence.

Though her body was covered in wounds, not a single drop of blood had stained the cloak.

Teresa was deeply grateful to Herbert.

Grateful that he had saved her, grateful that he had given her the chance to save her benefactor, and grateful that he had not despised her appearance.

Finally, Herbert saw what the girl had been hiding in her arms.

It was a book she had never let go of, no matter how brutal the battles or the flight.

It was no precious secret tome, recorded no rare incantations — it was merely a picture book of fairy tales, its pages long since worn from being turned.

Herbert raised a hand and wiped the fresh blood from the cover, revealing the original title.

"The Knight and the Village Girl"

A very ordinary, even somewhat dull, commonplace sort of story.

The tale of an ordinary village girl who, in her moment of peril, was aided by a knight, and in the end found love.

And now, both the village girl and the knight had been drenched in blood.

"She really was such a naive child…"

Teresa — she had been waiting all along for her own knight.

In the end, perhaps she had waited and found him, and perhaps she had not.

Herbert tucked the bloodstained picture book away, placing it into the shadow at his feet.

Then, Herbert, who had been struggling to keep his expression in check, could hold it no longer and cursed under his breath.

"That damn Miss Xie Shen!"

【"Eh? Are you talking about me?"】

"Tch! Cut it out."

【"Ah~ haha~"】

Herbert rolled his eyes, ignoring the bored prankster god who was looking for a scolding, and muttering, drew his blade from Teresa's chest.

The blade was pulled free, and the girl, no longer supported, fell forward into Herbert's arms.

In that moment, she looked as though she had simply fallen into his embrace and quietly fallen asleep.

Holding the body that was slowly growing cold, Herbert's eyes could not help but narrow.

Behind him, Quinna's weak, hoarse voice rang out.

"…Sir, may I take her from you?"

Blood seeped from her clenched fists, the corners of her mouth had been bitten through, and her whole being radiated a decadent air.

She did not reproach Herbert for his ruthless act — as a member of the monastery, she had neither the standing nor the strength to do so.

Quinna could only kneel before Herbert, lower her head, and humbly implore:

"I know the monastery's rules — the bodies of heretics must be given the rite of fire. But she saved me, and I wish to bury her… may I?"

Herbert, holding Teresa, rose to his feet, turned to look at Quinna, and said flatly: "Give you the body? No."

The corner of his mouth curved in an odd smile, and he said casually: "She isn't even fully dead — where would you get a body to give you?"

Quinna had lifted her head at his very first sentence, pleading: "Sir! She is already dead! Why can you not even grant me her body… eh?"

She blinked, staring in a daze at Herbert's expression, which was growing harder and harder to contain.

"You… no! What did you just say?"

Wh-what does that mean?

"Didn't hear me? Then forget it — you can see for yourself in a moment."

Herbert held the girl in his arms, draped his serpent tail over his shoulder, and walked toward the ruined clock tower.

As he walked, he muttered: "That damn Miss Xie Shen thought the ending was set, and once she figured she'd won, she left."

"She figured she'd won big, so she must be feeling pretty pleased with herself — probably couldn't help humming a little tune…"

"But hey, who ever said that a body being shattered and having no soul means you have to die?"

Quinna:???

Th-that… wouldn't that kill her?

Once the gaze of the Sinful Desire had withdrawn, Herbert finally no longer had to keep up his pretense of grief and anger.

"Nie Nasha, is her soul intact?"

The prankster god Young Lady answered breezily, proudly: 【"Of course it is~ Don't you underestimate me!"】

【"Hehe~ Her soul wasn't hurt at all before I sucked it over!"】

"Good, very good — here's a pat on the head for you!"

Why did Herbert have to do it himself?

Why did he have to kill Teresa with his own hands?

Was he truly that cold-hearted?

No.

It was because, if he had not done it himself, Teresa really would have died!

Only when he struck could Nie Nasha seize the chance to snatch Teresa's soul away.

And only Herbert's all-out performance could fool that cunning, suspicious Miss Xie Shen!

No one else could have done it.

The Sinful Desire would have spotted the trick, and the entire plan would have fallen apart on the spot.

That simply could not be allowed.

As for the damage to the flesh…

Herbert turned his head, gave a relieved Sifani beside him a light smile and a nod, and asked, "Sifani, an injury like this — you can save her, right? Can you do it?"

It's not a serious wound.

Just that the heart was shredded by a sword blade, the body's mana circuits were destroyed by holy power, and there were multiple fractures all over. That's all.

Mhm, for a master of flesh-manipulation, this kind of injury is basically a minor wound.

Sifani looked at Herbert's relaxed manner, nodded lightly as well, and said softly, "I'll do my best."

Although she had vaguely guessed it in her heart before, she only truly set her mind at ease once it was finally confirmed.

Herbert was still that familiar, arrogant yet soft-hearted boy.

"Not 'do your best' — you absolutely must succeed."

Herbert corrected her, not thinking for a moment that she would fail, and said with a light laugh, "I don't like stories that end in tragedy. Hate it the most."

All that nonsense about 'only tragedy is profound,' 'only broken things are the best,' 'only crotch literature is the most realistic'…

It's all complete bullshit!

What kind of person actually likes that dogshit kind of development?!?

Fuck tragedy!!!

Sifani laughed, her gaze sweeping over the traces that Stela had once left behind, then she looked away.

"Mhm, don't worry. I will definitely do it."

My story with her ended in tragedy, but my story with him… definitely won't end in tragedy.

Herbert nodded, then turned his head to look at the vampire Young Lady beside him, whose expression was strange and whose nose kept twitching.

"Elisha."

"Cough, cough… Mhm?"

Elisha sniffed, coughed once, and looked at Herbert as if nothing had happened.

Although she had said she didn't care, that she could act without hesitation, and that she could help Herbert do the deed —

But when she actually saw that cute little girl could live, she was still deeply moved.

In not wanting to become a monster, Elisha also held a similar resolve.

Herbert did not tease her, but instead gave her a task.

"Seal off the city. Before I return, don't let a single person leave. Can you do it?"

He was busy on his end resurrecting Teresa and had no time to deal with the others, but that didn't mean Herbert would let them leave just like that.

These people received my grace, only barely surviving thanks to me, and now they want to just walk away like that… How is that even acceptable?

Elisha raised an eyebrow, licked her lips with some eagerness, and pressed, "Just block them is enough?"

"Right. No one is allowed to leave."

The vampire Young Lady's expression grew more and more excited. She took a deep breath, and the crimson in her eyes deepened: "Then, what if someone wants to resist? Can I act?"

Herbert gave her a strange look and said, baffled, "Do I really need to teach you that? Obviously you fight!"

"Haha! No problem!" Elisha bounded up in a few quick steps, spread her enormous bat wings from behind, and flew up toward the high sky.

Returning to the high air, she grabbed with her right hand and conjured a blood umbrella condensed from fresh blood, floating high above the city.

Looking down from above, she watched the movements of those few survivors.

Who wants to leave?

Step right up!

I want to have a proper fight with you!

Elisha had been feeling pent up for a long time.

The fight with the giant dragon and the necromancer earlier had already been unsatisfying — she could only play support.

Against Stela, she had basically slacked off the whole time, watching Herbert and Sifani perform.

Facing Miss Xie Shen's avatar was even worse — she was purely countered by her allies, getting burned by the light something fierce…

Now, she had finally found a chance to vent.

Bring it on!

However, Elisha was probably going to be disappointed again this time.

Having witnessed the terrifying battle between Herbert and Miss Xie Shen, as well as the scene of him treating his own allies cruelly in battle (i. e., stabbing Teresa through with a sword)… these people didn't dare to act rashly at all.

They didn't know the inside story, didn't know Herbert's true strength, and didn't know Teresa wasn't completely dead.

For these eyewitnesses, the story from their perspective was an entirely different version.

Miss Xie Shen's follower had plotted a conspiracy, tried to sacrifice everyone, and was then instantly killed.

Miss Xie Shen's avatar descended, the sun fell, and then she was also instantly killed.

In their eyes, Herbert's current image was that of a ruthless holy knight who could almost be seen as the embodiment of justice.

That guy didn't even spare a child corrupted by Miss Xie Shen!

How could he possibly show mercy to them?

They got scared and decided to behave and wait a bit longer…

And their obedient behavior made Elisha feel quite frustrated.

"Where are the people!?"

She floated in the high sky, shouting loudly: "Come out, all of you!"

"Don't hide and stay silent — get out here right now, ahhhhh!"

(End of chapter)